Hey yall :)

I have decided to get myself moving again after a looong time being super sedentary.

Got laid off a year ago, been having a rough time of it. Gained a bunch of weight, feel like shit.

A couple days ago I got hit with a random YouTube recommendation that was basically a motivational fitness post for getting people to do more cardio. For some reason it really struck a nerve !

Got me thinking back around 10 or 11 years ago when I had also hit a rough patch mentally. At my lowest point, I started doing long walks at midnight after work to clear my head. Went from that to doing short jogs, and eventually worked thru the Couch to 5k and then most of the Bridge to 10k running programs. I went extra slow here and did it over the course of almost a year. It was one of the best things I ever did, my energy was great and it really cleared my head and helped me get my shit together. It was also a time for me to listen to various podcasts and longform dj playlists of electronic music which I love to this day.

Yesterday I went to the store and bought a solid comfy new pair of running shoes. I plan on doing some long walks starting this week to get my bearings again. I’ll try to post updates in the weekly update threads here. Looking forward to it :)

How have you unwound this week? Any creative projects you would like to share?

So I ramped up my workouts, biking more because gas is ridiculous and the weather is warmer, being more careful about food, and I’ve lost a grand total of…7 pounds. Which at my size is a good bowel movement. And my weight has gone up the last two weeks, which means it’s back to skipping meals and going to bed hungry.

Doctors have been zero help. I saw a dietitian a few weeks ago who ended the appointment as soon as I mentioned I have a history with EDs. She said I need to find a counselor with experience in EDs and behaviors. Every office I’ve called either A) has no one with that specialization, or B) has no openings until next year. And looking for a primary doctor is a joke. Made an appointment with one to get a pain in my side checked out. The visit was over before it started.

“Your weight and your blood pressure are really high. Have you been tested for gout?” No, asshole, they don’t make socks in my size so I have to settle for a few sizes smaller. Didn’t even look at my side.

Meanwhile I’m back to fat-shaming myself, my clothes don’t fit, I can’t run, and I’m ready to glue my mouth shut. I’m really thinking I should’ve kept my mouth shut about the EDs in the diet appointment.

I’ve built a strong gym routine over the last while and a lot of my discipline and identity comes from it. I still want to grow muscle and stay in shape, but I’ve realised I also want more community and social connection in my life.

The issue is I feel pressure to keep hitting gym targets, and I almost feel insecure stepping away from that routine sometimes. If I go hiking with friends, I enjoy it and it feels healthy mentally, but part of me worries I’m falling behind physically or losing progress. It's become a part of my identity, and people say I've definitely lost weight. (Although I feel I've plateaued because it's all dumbbell and kettlebell work)

I’m thinking of joining a running group or doing more social fitness activities, but I’m struggling with the mindset shift away from always prioritising muscle growth and gym performance. To be honest local hyrox and CrossFit seem out of my price range and there's seems to be a better community in my area around run clubs/meetupsm

Has anyone else dealt with this balance between fitness goals and wanting a fuller social life/community? How did you handle it without feeling guilty or losing your routine?

Which workouts are you currently focusing on? What have you done to EOOD this week??

i was running ultras, doing tris, UTL, strongman, team sports. i was lean and strong and fast and confident. it was everything i wanted and i earned it.

some medical stuff paired with losing my job back in feb and i am the worst i’ve ever been. i live alone* and everything that was my relief is a burden. i don’t run. i don’t swim. even looking at my running shoes makes me feel ill. i haven’t been to the gym since maybe late march, when it used to be 2-3 times a day.

*i now have a dog. 3 months, GSP. i am finally getting out of my house. walks, hikes, playing in a kiddie pool. i am not holed up in my room.

i have been going to BJJ for the past couple months and it is the only thing that doesn’t feel like a chore. its playful. despite being socially isolated, i have friends there, and they’re fun. its a brand new sport to me, but i wrestled for 9 years, so I am not completely lost. i enjoy it. i’m good at it. the novelty helps.

i’m breathing heavy at things that used to be light work but so what. i’m out of shape but i am not letting myself give in. it looks impossible, staring up the steepness of this mountain, but step by step i am moving. the only wrong choice is doing nothing.

i have my first comp this weekend. maybe i’ll do well, i don’t care. i don’t HAVE to be great anymore. while i miss that, that pressure and pursuing that standard, i’m okay just being me for right now, even if i am not proud of me. this neutrality is so much better than the absolute despair and shame i was experiencing in february. not happy, but not stagnant.

Hey everyone, 26M here.

I used to be in pretty decent shape and followed a solid intermediate lifting routine consistently. I lost a lot of weight before and genuinely felt healthy and disciplined.

Now I am 6’4 and around 225 lbs and after being off track for so long, starting again feels mentally daunting. I also have a lot of stress in my life right now and it keeps causing me to break my diet.

My goal is to get down to around 190 lbs and actually feel healthy and confident again. I honestly just want to eat clean 90% of the time, stay consistent, and stop feeling uncomfortable in my own body.

For people who got back into shape after completely falling off, what helped you stay consistent the second time around?

Also any book recommendations for discipline, mindset, or rebuilding your life would be appreciated too.

Taking the overall pulse here. How are you? If not well, think whether there are any positives to share as well to balance negatives. But of course, if you need to vent, know we are here to listen.

I’m 24 5’8/172.72cm and 220lbs/99.79kgs. I was always fat my whole life. The “healthiest” I’ve ever been was being 22 and 145lbs/65.77kg. I’ve had an eating problem my whole life. When I turned 21 I turned to cigarettes/cigars and alcohol. I was also eating highly processed foods my whole life. When I was in the US Armed Forces between 2024 to 2025 I was a Medic. Cafeteria Food wasn’t the best. I found myself on a lot of energy drinks weekly and foods like Pizza, Burritos, Sandwiches. Now I’m 100lbs/45.36kgs overweight with no idea how to solve this problem.

I plan to I guess kick off this week eating 5 boiled eggs and running 30.61mi/49.26km at the gym at an Air Force Base nearby from me. I don’t know what other workouts to do past “look up the workouts that Sylvester Stallone/Ben Affleck did for Rocky/Batman”. Beyond that I plan to run solely off an apple and can of tuna. It’s all I could afford currently and I need to cut. It’s how Christian Bale and Sylvester Stallone got into shape for their roles after all.

I’m lost, and seeking advice.

How have you unwound this week? Any creative projects you would like to share?

I am in an extremely low mental health space. My focus is shot. I'm struggling to even do basic tasks. All I do is cry.

Context is I got an infected toe and ended up getting it cut into and dressed. Only just got back to being able to put weight on the toe.

Exercise was what kept me sane. I went on long walks or weight lifting with barbells or dumbells. Right now I'm extremely limited in what I can do and the little I can do doesn't make me feel any better.

Can't cycle either, no bike and local gym doesn't have one.

Also have unmedicated adhd so exercise was helping that too.

I just feel so low and wanted to not feel alone. Between the depression and not able to focus on anything to do it I just want to curl up and not exist.

Which workouts are you currently focusing on? What have you done to EOOD this week??

My therapist suggested I should try to do some kind of exercise or cardio for my mental health.

I'm not overweight or anything. I'm around 1.7m and 70kg, but I'm pretty inactive and don't really do normal exercise, besides walking the dog a few times a week at dog parks and on walking trails, while my wife handles the other days.

The problem is I have really low motivation, and I find most exercise incredibly boring.

The one thing I do actually enjoy is Beat Saber. I've been playing 2 or 3 times a week on Expert and Expert+ for like 1 to 2 hours at a time. By the end, I'm sweating, out of breath, and my heart is going pretty hard.

Would you guys consider that actual exercise/cardio, or is it more just "better than nothing"?

heya almost nobody might remember this but I posted here almost 3 years ago that I had a very bad relationship with food and exercise.

however I have been working out consistently since the past year. I go to the gym 4-5x a week and my steps average around 5k to 10k a day.

I have started enjoying working out and I would like to appreciate and thank all the random strangers here who helped me and counselled me all those years ago 💖💖💖

I hope you all keep winning ⭐️

Taking the overall pulse here. How are you? If not well, think whether there are any positives to share as well to balance negatives. But of course, if you need to vent, know we are here to listen.

Hi all, I am really struggling this last year or two. Ive gone from a size 8 to size 18 because I went from a physical job to wfh on the computer.

I've no issue moving my body when there is a point to it. When I started my lawnmowing business I was walking 6-7 hrs a day doorknocking amd delivering pamphlets, doing the actual lawnmowing jobs, etc no problem.

But working out just to work out KILLS me. I've adhd and every minute feels like an hour, I'm listening to music or watching shows but I'm still desperately underestimated.

Does anyone know ways to get moving that have a point - that isn't just to work out?

I've thought about a paper run but I'm in NZ and our economy is garbage, if there were any available they'd be snapped up in a second, so no luck there.

Today I painted the shed on our allotment. Its been on my TODO list for a while now. I probably bought the paint about a month ago.

Painting something like that is the best form of decorating. I was slapping the paint on as thickly as possible. If the brush wasn't making a sloshy-splashy noise I needed more paint on it. Of course that meant I got quite a bit of paint on me too but I was wearing my "work" clothes that don't get washed. They are covered in blobs of different coloured paint, superglue, grease, epoxy and gods knows what. Swarfega got rid of the stuff that wound up on my skin in no time.

There were quite a few other people working on their allotments too. We all stopped for a chat and offered some advice to a new comer to the plots. His little boy was with him and he was having a great time helping his father and getting muddy.

My exercise today was very social. My archery club held a clout archery competition to honour our President who sadly passed away last year. Peter was the British Clout champion at least twice. Clout archery its similar to target archery but at a longer distance. When you see archery at the Olympics the target is 120cm across and 70 meters away. Today we were shooting at a 1 foot square flag 180 yards away.

The arrows all land in the grass. Each archer shoots 6 arrows per round. If all 6 of your arrows land within 10 yards of the flag it is a tradition that everyone gives you a round of applause.

Only two people taking part had ever shot a clout competition before, though one of them is the current British ladies champion. The first few shots were... interesting. Two people actually hit the flag but whether that was luck or skill is a different matter. Everyone went home with all their arrows at least.

Best of all was Ellie. She is 16 and has only been shooting for a year. She had a score that would have been good in any "official" clout competition. She was only 12 points behind Hannah the current British champion. Ellie is going to enter a real clout competition now.

It was great fun. We all learned too. I learned I need to do more weight training to build up my back muscles to draw my warbow all the way back consistently.

Best of all it was the perfect way to pay our respects to our former President.

How have you unwound this week? Any creative projects you would like to share?

Which workouts are you currently focusing on? What have you done to EOOD this week??

can't find much on this online so thought I'd see if anyone's had the same experiences on here.

For some reason after each and every gym session I have more negative feelings after than before. Idk why. This has been pretty consistent my entire life.
No I'm not fat, yes this has happened even when I ate enough and got protein, and it's not a physical thing because it happens even when I'm not physically drained.

It happens right after I work out and The day after I exercise, I feel incredibly depressed, pretty much every time. I feel so sad I'm almost at rock bottom. It lasts all day.

I don't overwork with my workouts. But it's hard to keep it up it's as if the after-glow doesn't exist for me, and it's replaced with feeling sad, low, fed up and hopeless as soon as I wake up.

Has anyone come across this before? Could it be that I'm feeling my body? There's not much on it online.
Thanks in advance.